U.S. Attorney Indicts Three in Alleged $52.5 Million Ponzi Scheme

We write today about a federal grand jury indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on April 28, 2011 against Martin Sigillito, James Scott Brown, and Derek Smith, for allegedly orchestrating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

According to the indictment, Sigillito “was a St. Louis, Missouri attorney who resided in the Eastern District of Missouri….He was also an ordained priest, and eventually a ‘Bishop,’ in the church of the American Anglican Convention.” The indictment alleges that Brown “was an Arkansas-born attorney residing in Leawood, Kansas.” The indictment charges that Sigillito and Brown conspired with Smith, “a structural engineer, businessman and real estate speculator/developer who resided outside of London, England.”